Law of the Jungle - Mysterious culture of shot gun and summary justice

"All this time the finger was aimed at the Security Forces and White Van and White Van culture on abductions disappearances and the Shot Gun Culture. Today it has come to light that it is the Crime Lords generally backed by vociferous politicians who are the culprits. It is difficult to run the “Mafia, Drug, and Crime Kingdom” without direct and indirect support of the politicos."
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By Sarath Wijesinghe

(August 02, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian)Citizens run to peace officers and the judiciary for Justice and fair play as the last resort to resolve disputes and security of life, property, members of the family and the future. When they find the institutions are either inefficient incapable or corrupt the resulting position is disastrous. This environment is an ideal breeding ground for Mafia to thrive and to spread as a cancer. President Rajapaksa has successfully sphere headed the victory over terrorism with the strategy and leadership of the Defence Secretary who now has turned on the Underworld and Mafia in full swing for complete eradication of the cancerous underworld engulfed in the fabric of the society causing insecurity and fear to the citizen.

The gory pattern of violence topped by gangster killings by unknown/unidentified parties, group killings summery justice on the spot by the villagers and the victims on the roadside are dangerously rampant and chilling. Few recent cases worth mentioning on this new but dangerous pattern of events. Suspect involved in the raps of a 6 year old girl was shot dead. Suspect of the Varsha Girl in Trincomalee was found dead. Kudu Manju was found dead in Talangama. Prime suspect of the triple murder of Horana was found dead in a Rubber Estate. Underworld Nisthar and Imtiyaz were found dead. Prime suspect of the assassination of the former Chairman of the Southern Development was found dead in a ditch. Life has become so cheap as contract killings are common and used to take revenge from the enemy or somebody you do not for some reason. Contract agents are cheap and easily available due to addiction to drugs, crimes and want of cash in this open economy engulfed in fierce competition where social values have been suppressed by modern “Rap Culture” which is ruining the youth. There were plenty of more frightening and worrying incidents and we hope and wish there will be a control of the dangerous turn of events based on the timely actions and steps taken by His Lordships the newly appointed Chief Justice giving confidence to the citizen on the Judiciary which unfortunately deteriorated during the tenure of his predecessor.

Responsibility is mainly on the Police in combating this menace for which the public support, the strong backing of the civil society and the media is essential. Reporting of crimes and sensational matters which affects the physiology of the young generation should be thought of in the wider context. Reporting of some Sinhala News papers of killings rape and crimes which attracts wide publicity is made “juicy” due to fierce competition among the publications. Press Council, the Ministry of Information, Media Organisations and the Consumer Affairs Authority should take serious note on this aspect to promote fair publication of crime and sensational news items, especially on Rape, Murder, and crimes of unusual nature. Inspector General of Police appears to be making genuine efforts to combat this main threat to the Nation. But it is time for him to adopt more innovative and effective mechanism instead of the outdated and traditional methods.

It is true Justice Delayed is Justice Denied. What if there is no Justice at all due to inefficiency of the institutions and no confidence on the judicial system. New Chief Justice is working round the clock on this area and what is now required is the help and assistance of the Ministry of Justice and the Bar Association to the new Chief Justice to gain lost confidence and to achieve the end results. Prison which is the most corrupt and the breeding ground of the criminals come under the Ministry of Justice and it is the responsibility of the Minister of Justice to give top priority to clean and revamp the institution as the “Lords of Crime” operate the criminal activities including – from the four walls of the Prisons. This is sad serious and worrying. The lethargy bribery and corruption existed during the last ten years of misfortune and misrule in the justice system is gradually improving and it takes time to gain confidence of the people on the system which is fast improving. Criminal Law, Criminal Courts, and the entire policing procedure which is outdated and old have to be fully overhauled. Criminals and gangsters could still manure the system and it is the reality that they are shielded and protected by rich and power underworld masters and politicians. The book on unfinished struggle speaks of underworld connections to some judges and gross misuse of power. It is time the Ministry of Justice, Bar Association, the Civil Society, and the Judiciary work together with the other institutions to eradicate this menace threatening the peace and peaceful living of the citizen.

Concerned citizens should find time to read again and again the full interview by His Lordship the Chief Justice on 19th July, Sri Lanka Guardian on the subject People Need Justice and Fair Play, in which the following question was highlighted. Q- People are concerned about the waves of crimes and the general lawlessness of the country What is your contribution and the part played to curb the which is threatening the life and property and the liberty of the nation. A (part) “The Judiciary should be completely impartial and above board. There will be no room for Telephone Justice and Gossip Justice during my tenure. People should have access to justice to be confident on the system. Otherwise they tend to take the law into their hands”. In fact there was “Worship Justice” too existed then where politicos worship Justices at home and powerful Monks in Colombo 7 for justice that was readily available.


In the absence of these basic rights in existence in the society the Law of the Jungle based on the theory of the survival of the fittest will emerge to take over. Today everybody appears to be taking the cover of President Rajapaksa who is managing most of the matters single handed with his charm and far seen strategies with available limited resources as he is compelled to manage affairs with the network available at the time the Trusteeship was entrusted by the “Peoples” of the Nation. Now things have changed and there are new challenges that have emerged locally and internationally.

All this time the finger was aimed at the Security Forces and White Van and White Van culture on abductions disappearances and the Shot Gun Culture. Today it has come to light that it is the Crime Lords generally backed by vociferous politicians who are the culprits. It is difficult to run the “Mafia, Drug, and Crime Kingdom” without direct and indirect support of the politicos. This is where the Efficiency and Honesty of the Police and the security forces play a major role in the eradication process of the underworld. Justice is a concept of moral rightness on ethics, reasonability, natural law, fairness, religion and equality. Justice is associated with fairness. This is applicable to the suspect and the prisoner as well as the litigant. Citizen must have the confidence of justice for him to be civic conscious. Executive and the Judicatory can not expect the citizen to be civic conscious without providing him the basic justice and fair play in the in the social fabric which is complicated. It is the duty of the State to provide Due Process and Rule of Law to the citizens which are the main pillars of the House of Peace and Prosperity.

(The writer,Solicitor- Former Chairman of the Consumer Affairs Authority and the former Secretary Bar Association of Sri Lanka. He can be reached at sarath8@hotmail.com)

-Sri Lanka Guardian